Southern 2020

cover story
Campus Life
The
in a
Time of
COVID-19
In late March 2020, BSC students received a postcard in the mail with an image of a
chalkboard and the words “1st Day of BSC Online.” Students took selfies with the “signs”
– some on their front porches as if they were on their way somewhere, others in their
bedrooms next to their laptops – and shared them on Instagram. It was the first day in a
long series of days that have often been referred to as “unprecedented.”
postcard offered an encouraging
message that BSC would continue to
provide the things at its foundation: the
exchange of ideas, the sharing of wisdom,
the support and understanding of faculty
and staff, and the challenges and rewards
of learning.
Rising to the Challenge
When students were sent home on March
16, the transition to online coursework
began immediately. Dr. Kate Hayden,
assistant professor of chemistry, and Dr.
Amber Wagner, assistant professor of creative
and applied computing, collaborated with
BSC’s IT department to provide training and
resources for faculty. Hayden and Wagner
led a series of workshops on March 18 –
nearly 50 faculty members attended them in
groups of ten or fewer, while others viewed
a recorded presentation from home. They
learned how tools like Moodle, Microsoft
Teams, and Screencast-O-Matic would be
vital going forward.
Other campus departments worked
swiftly to move their services online,
including the Library, Counseling Services,
the Academic Resource Center, and the
Writing Center.
As everyone prepared to return virtually
after spring break, Hayden said, “Our
mantra has been ‘While we are working
remotely, none of us is working alone.’ I
hope that is a message that resonates with
our students as well.”
A Pandemic Plan
Like other professors, BSC President
Daniel B. Coleman spent significant
time filming his spring term lectures and
meeting with students online. As president,
he and senior leadership focused on the
immediate administrative needs of the
College, including rebating a portion of
room, board, and fees of spring term.
He and members of the leadership team
secured funding under the CARES Act and
the Small Business Administration loan
program as well as the U.S. Department of
Education grants.
The next step: Exploring what campus
life might look like in the fall. Could
students, faculty, and staff safely return to
the Hilltop?
Six working groups were created to
examine every aspect of Birmingham-
Southern life: Health Guidelines, Student
Life, Academic Affairs, Human Resources,
Athletics, and Finance and Operations.
Each working group created new processes
and protocols to mitigate risk in their
focused field as well as for the greater BSC
community. These protocols were shared
with seven medical experts around the
country – five of whom are BSC graduates
– with expertise in epidemiology, oncology,
clinical pathology, infectious diseases,
public health, and primary care services. The
protocols formed the backbone of the Return
to the Hilltop plan, shared with students,
families, faculty, and staff in a series of online
town hall events over the summer.
Fall term on the Hilltop would move
forward with 258 (64%) courses offered inperson,
25 courses offered online only, and
64 hybrid courses.
16 / ’southern
FALL/WINTER 2019 2020 / 19